The invention relates to body building equipment, and more particularly a more manufacturable weight plate having a unitary handle element to effect convenient and secure transport.
Body building equipment often takes many forms to provide the resistance necessary to tear-down muscle tissue during an exercise regimen, Modernly, many ingenious resistance developing systems or machines have been developed, and utilizing, for example, pulleyed cables connected to stacks of weights, or stretchable band-like rubber components. These systems often promise faster and better results for exercisers. However, while the popularity of such fitness machines typically follows cyclic trends, free-weights remain the physical fitness apparatus of choice for many individuals.
Conventional free-weights are typically of the barbell variety. Generally, a barbell includes an elongated rigid bar for grasping with one or both hands and having removable weight plates at each end. The weight plates are typically included as a collection of plates for selective installation on the bar according to the user""s ability. Traditional weight plates are generally disc-shaped, and formed with a central throughbore sized to slidably receive the end of the bar.
Although traditional weight plates, such as those described above, have succeeded in carrying out their intended purposes, there are many areas for substantial improvement. A key problem often associated with traditional weight plates involves the transport of individual plates from one location to the other. Because of the solid integral construction, traditional plates are difficult to grasp or control with a single hand. As a result, in order to safely move or install weight plates on a bar, both hands are often used to transport conventional plates.
One proposal for solving the aforementioned problem, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,137,502, and assigned to the assignees of the present invention, describes a disc member having an outer periphery and including a pair of generally diametrically opposed elongated openings parallel to one another and equidistant from a circular opening. The centers of the elongated openings are disposed at least midway out from the center of the disc member to the outer periphery of the disc member. The disc member is conveniently transportable with a single hand because of the elongated openings.
While the improved disc member described above works well for its intended purposes, the conventional wisdom at the time felt that having two diametrically opposed elongated openings would preserve the axial balancing of the plate. Unfortunately, the perceived necessity of forming a plurality of elongated openings creates a corresponding number of manufacturing finishing steps to place the product in a saleable state. These steps typically involve specialized de-burring operations and associated inspections to eliminate rough, sharp surfaces.
Therefore, the need exists for a more manufacturable weight plate having a construction that minimizes manufacturing costs and yet retains the capability of convenient trransport with a single hand. The weight plate of the present invention satisfies this need.
The weight plate of the present invention provides a convenient integrally formed sole handle element to enable transport of the plate with a single hand. Manufacturing costs to fabricate the weight plate are minimized due to the reduced number of openings required to form an operative plate.
To realize the advantages above, in one form, the invention comprises a weight plate including a plate body formed with a central throughbore and having a plate periphery. The body is further formed with solely a single opening disposed radially outwardly from the central throughbore and at least midway out from the center of the body to the plate periphery.
In another form, the invention comprises a weight plate including a plate body formed with a central throughbore and having a plate periphery. The body is further formed with a triad of spaced apart openings disposed equiangularly and positioned radially outwardly from the central throughbore and at least midway out from the center of the body to the plate periphery.